Jury Clears Edison Officers In Apartment Complex Shooting Death

EDISON, NJ — A state grand jury recently voted not to file any criminal charges against two Edison Police officers for fatally shooting a man who charged at them with an axe, NJ Attorney General Matthew Platkin said.

On April 12, 2022 Merrill Rambarose, 49, of Edison was fatally shot by Edison police officers and his death was investigated by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA).

The investigation included witness interviews, photographs, review of video footage, as well as autopsy results from the medical examiner.

The grand jury concluded its deliberations on Sept. 25, and voted “no bill,” meaning no criminal charges should be filed against Officer Daniel Bradley and Officer Joseph Elqumos of the Edison Police Department.

According to the investigation, uniformed Edison police officers responded to a 911 call made shortly after 3:45 p.m. reporting a man was threatening a woman with an axe at an apartment complex on Judson Street in Edison.

When officers arrived, they tried to speak with Rambarose on his second-floor apartment balcony, urging him to come downstairs to talk to them, Platkin’s office said.

Rambarose went inside his apartment and emerged moments later armed with an axe. Officers repeatedly ordered him to drop the weapon but he did not comply and continued to run toward officers with the axe in his hand, Platkin’s office said.

Officers Elqumos and Bradley both fired their weapons, fatally wounding Rambarose.

Officers and emergency medical personnel rendered first aid before Rambarose, was taken to JFK University Medical Center in Edison. He was pronounced dead at 4:41 p.m.

Video footage from three body-worn cameras capturing the events surrounding the shooting were previously released.

A 2019 law, P.L. 2019, c. 1, requires the Attorney General’s Office to conduct investigations of a person’s death that occurs during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity or while the decedent is in custody.

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